Mavericks' Nico Harrison says trading Luka Doncic, drafting Duke's Cooper Flagg was his 'vision'
The NBA Draft wrapped up a few days ago, and players are now reporting to their teams for introductory press conferences and other formalities. Cooper Flagg was in Dallas shortly after being selected first overall on Wednesday night. Flagg claimed he didn’t know the Mavericks would draft him—but Dallas may have tipped their hand early with a premature website announcement.
“DLLS Mavericks reporter Kevin Gray posted on X a screenshot from Mavs' official website that displayed Flagg in Dallas' white home jersey – part of a premature ‘Welcome to Dallas’ graphic that was quickly removed from the team's site,” Yahoo Sports’ Jeremy Beren wrote.
The Mavericks have big plans for Flagg, including a possible position change. Whether this experiment is limited to the Summer League or extends into the regular season remains to be seen.
“I don't look at the position. I want to put him at point guard. I want to make him uncomfortable and see how he reacts (to) being able to run the show,” Jason Kidd said. “We want to push. And I think he's going to respond in a positive way. It's all right to fail. It's all right to turn the ball over. We've talked about that.”
Flagg is expected to give his all on both ends of the floor—offensively and defensively. Just a few months ago, fans were furious with GM Nico Harrison for trading away Luka Doncic. However, Harrison insists that dealing Doncic and securing the first overall pick was always part of the long-term plan.
“We're in 'win now' mode, and we have a really good team, and Cooper adds to that. I think the fans can finally start to see the vision,” Harrison said.
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Still, openly admitting this was his vision may not sit well with fans. There was no guarantee they’d land the top pick—or a generational talent like Flagg. Trading away a franchise cornerstone is rarely part of a sound strategy. Harrison may have pulled it off, but he's still playing a dangerous game.